CLICK BELOW TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH SCOTT CZASAK, DDA
Escanaba Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Scott Czasak says Tuesday’s traditional Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony was cancelled under “an abundance of caution”.
The annual event the Tuesday before Thanksgiving is held outdoors, but since it typcially brings together hundreds of people, Czasak says they just didn’t feel comfortable moving forward.
He tells RRN News that the atmosphere just wouldn’t have been the same, with social distancing in place.
“We couldn’t do the interaction with Santa. We couldn’t do the interaction with people coming into the office for hot chocolate and cookies,” Czasak said. “A lot of the true spirit of it would be taken away anyway, just with people standing six feet apart and they go away. So, we just said, you know, out of an abundance of caution, let’s just not even risk anything.”
The Escanaba Christmas Parade was cancelled for the same reason.
“We thought about it,” Czasak said. “We thought about the considerations, and could we make it work? But while there was a possibility, with especially with how the restrictions got amped up last week, we just decided under an abundance of caution to do it virtually.”
of the Escanaba Downtown Development Authority (DDA) made the following announcement on Friday:
The tree will still be lit at 6:00 Tuesday night. But crowds are not allowed. The ceremony will be streamed live on the Escanaba DDA’s Facebook page at facebook.com/escanaba.dda.
“They can stream it, they can watch it live, they can watch it later if they want,” Czasak said. “The tree will be on, if they want to come by and see it, if they want to come by and take pictures, it will be on for the entire season.”
The Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony is traditionally the apex of the Black Friday on Tuesday event in Downtown Escanaba, which will still be happening, with changes to make the event safer during the Covid19 pandemic.
“While we want to ensure people stay healthy and safe during this pandemic, our local businesses still need local support,” said Czasak. “This holiday shopping season, we are strongly encouraging everyone the Spend Local and help locally owned businesses who have been hit hard during 2020.”
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